Parents say

Kids say

A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this website.

Educational Value

Kids can learn to express themselves visually and create photo- and video-driven movies with music. Predetermined themes provide a background, which can help kids understand how to group and illustrate concepts; creating a title also provides practice with writing skills like clarity and brevity. Posting comments on other users' films can offer communication help. Magisto isn't exactly a crash course in moviemaking; kids do little of the customization, so it teaches them limited technical skills. Still, Magisto could be used for a fun art project with a dual purpose to show kids a new way to express their feelings.

Positive Messages

The site subtly encourages creativity and self-expression.

Violence

Videos generally don't feature graphic violence, but some feature motorbike and other stunts that could be dangerous. Select user comments have an angry, aggressive tone.

Sex

Comments include phrases like, "[y]ou are sexy." Videos on Magisto seem generally devoid of nudity, but typing Magisto and sex into a search engine like Google results in dozens of videos on YouTube with a "Created with Magisto" tagline and men and women gyrating. Google searches for Magisto and porn turn up extremely graphic YouTube clips.

Language

Some videos have dozens of comments that are completely swear-free. Other infractions range from iffy usernames like Butthead Fredrick to derogatory user comments with words like f--k and s--t.

Consumerism

The site is essentially ad-free but offers two paid subscription plans.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Kids won't see frequent references, but a few clips mention drinking and drugs. One video, for example, includes shots of beer cans; in another video, a band performs a song that contains a marijuana reference.

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Magisto is an online video editor. To create a movie, kids have to register; they're asked for their full name, email, and a password. With the free version, kids can create clips that are 15 minutes or less with up to 10 brief videos and five photos. To create longer clips, they'll need a paid Plus subscription, which lets them load up to 25 clips and 20 photos to create videos that are 25 minutes or less. A Pro subscription includes all of the above plus HD downloads for movies you create on the site.

What's it about?

Kids can upload videos and photos, choose a theme, and select a song from about a dozen pop hits or their own libraries to create a MAGISTO movie. The site uses artificial intelligence and analyzes speech, camera motion, and other elements to select key emotional moments from videos; kids can title their movies, and, only a few minutes after everything is uploaded, they'll receive an e-mail with a link to their finished films. Movies are automatically private; users can make them public, send the URL to friends, or share them on social media.

Is it any good?

Magisto, which was created by a scientist looking to organize photos into a short film after the birth of his first child, helps users create compelling, brief movies from uploaded video footage and photos. The tool is easy to use, but kids could stumble across a few roadblocks while making their movies. If users happen to get a length-related or other error message, they won't get much guidance on how to fix it; if they try to make a simple photo slide show, they'll quickly learn that they need to upload a combination of video clips and photos for the tool to work. Parents' biggest concern likely will involve the site's popular movies section. Although many movies center on tame content like kittens, kids could, in theory, come across inappropriate content. Because there's no easy way to search through the user-submitted videos, finding films with iffy images isn't all that easy; however, providing adult supervision can help ensure kids have a safe experience.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about how visual style choices affect the overall message. Does the Roaring Twenties option invoke a different mood than Love or other filters? Does it help display or detract from the information you're trying to share?

What kind of information is easier to explain using both pictures and words instead of only images or text?

Magisto movies are private by default, but kids can easily share them through Facebook or other social media sites. What kinds of problems could come from publicly posting a movie you made? Use our Social Networking Tips as a guide to discuss social-media safety concerns with your child.

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